Hot stick



, APP-il 13, 1943- A. R. WILLIAMS 2,316,204

HOT STICK Filed Jan. 27, 1941 Patented Apr. 13, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOT STICK AllisonV R. Williams, Yazoo City, Miss.

Application January 27, 1941, Serial No. 376,0391/2 (Granted under the `act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) 7 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon in accordance with the provisions of the act of April 30, 1928 (ch. 460, 45 Stat. L.` 467).

This invention relates to the art of connecting and disconnecting equipment, or their leads, from transmission, distribution or feeder lines of electric energy while normally energized. More specifically, the invention has to do with means commonly known as hot sticks for disconnecting or applying taps or clamps to power lines, without interrupting the normal transmission of power, for the purpose of applying, replacing or removing such as fuses, lightning arresters, circuit breakers, transformers, etc.

The invention aims generally to make safer,

' more convenient, and more economical such connections while voltage is maintained on the line. A `further aim of the `invention is to provide means for the mechanical application of uniform or standard torque, of a predetermined proper magnitude, to line connecting screw elements, whereby to prevent destruction by over exertion or poor connection by inadequate exertion.

Devices which have been used for attaching or detaching such power line taps or clamps `have consisted essentially of ring or hook-like wrenches mounted` on the end of an insulated stick, by which tool a lineman may engage the eye of a screw element or line clamp and by manually exerting a torque through such stick he may either tighten or loosen such screws. Manually operated devices of the character in conventional use must depend upon the individual behavior of the lineman performing the function, the result frequently being that some clamps are put on not as rmly as they should be for good connection and others much more firmly than necessary. The forces of manually applied torque are so indefinite and vary to such an extent that the stems of such screws ar'e frequently twisted, damaged or destroyed. The inevitable result is that either the connection becomes loosened by the vibration and swinging of the line, resulting in a poor electrical contact, or that it is found, when it is desired to remove such screws, that they are so tightly fastened that attempts to loosen them often times results in shearing oiT the screws, thereby damaging the conductor, or twisting the auxiliary stirrup (sometimes used for connecting such clamps).

In instances such as given in connection with the use of conventional tools, it oitenhappens that the whole purpose of a clamp, which isdesigned to operate aS a temporary connection or tap to be easily detached and again attached, is thwarted. It frequently becomes necessary to cie-energize the line, ldiscontinue the service and then saw oif the clamp with a hacksaw. The interruption of servicedamages consumer relations and the destroyed clamps are a total waste. Moreover, it is recognized that in some cases, even though the clamp isv put on with the proper torque or tightness, corrosion of the threads of the screw causes an increased volume of metal compound which results in making it more difiicult to unscrew the clamp;` In such instances the lineman, in an effort to unscrew the clamp, oftentime twists the auxiliary loop or stirrup attached to the line or feeder with the consequent result that the line `must be de-energized .and a new loop installed. f

In addition to the foregoing, the ordinary or usual manual operation of conventional hot sticks is awkward and unsatisfactory due to the considerable spring or give of the power line or stirrup in response to torque eilorts attempted to be exerted, by the lineman, upon the screws of the connection.

Broadly, the present invention aims to overcome the shortcomings which are inherent in prior art and conventional devices of the class. With these and other objectsiin view, the invention resides in the combination of partsand details of construction described hereafter and iinally pointed out in the appended claims. Certain embodiments having the characteristics of the invention and bywhich the same may be practiced are illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a sectionalized elevationalview illustrating features of my improvements in hot sticks;

Fig. 1a, a side elevation of the hookelement of Fig. 1 construction;

Fig. 2, an elevational section taken at line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5, cross sectional views taken` respectively at lines 3 3, 4 4, and 5-5 of Figs. l and 2;

Fig. 6, an elevational View illustrating an operative position of my improved hot stick for the removal (or application) of a lead clamp from a line stirrup; and

Fig. 7, a fragmentary elevation illustrating a manner of use of my improved hot stick.

A suitable, but not exclusive, embodiment having the characteristics of my invention and by which it may be practiced comprises, as illustrated in the drawings, an elongated pole-like handle 5, of wood or otherv light weight non-conducting material, upon one end of which is mounted a housing 6 preferably of substantially similar exterior coniiguration as that of the pole. The housing 6 is provided with an interior elongated chamber I and for mounting purposes may be open at its lower end and provided with female threads 8 for cooperative engagement with male threads 9 on the end of the pole 5. Other equally satisfactory means may be employed for securing the housing to the pole, such as bolting, but should the means shown and described be preferred, it is deemedadvisable, but not essential, to provide some means, such as a key or set screw I0, for locking the coupled members against unscrewing rotation.

The housing 6 is provided as a suitable mean for the operative mounting of features of my invention which comprises a tool for engaging work to which work it is desired to apply torque, means for rotatively drivin-er the tool, means for storing torque energy, means for releasing the sto-red torque energy to the tool from whence it may be transmitted to the engaged work, and means for setting up a countertorque to work to which the engaged work is applied or to be applied.

More specifically with respect to certain elements ofithe combination, the tool for engaging the element to be turned may be of a wrench or screw-driver type depending upon the character of the element to be turned. Ordinarily a line clamp Il of a power line i2 or stirrup 'i3 is provided with an eye bolt It. For use in this connection, the tool I5 may suitably be of the socket wrench type having a recess Iii in which the eye of the bolt may be slightly but not completely rotatable. By allowing a slight amount of rotatory freedom between the eye of the bolt'and inner shoulders of the wrench recess, a rather sudden blow or snap action may be delivered to the bolt `when the rotary play or slack has been taken up by the rotation of the wrench.

The tool I5 may be suitably mounted, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, by providing the same with a shoulder or iiange Il, removed a suitable distance from the working end thereof, and a collar .i8 adapted to pass over the socket end of the tool into bearing relation with the forward face of the f shoulderV I'l. The collar is fixed to the forward end of the housing 6 in a manner whereby the base end of the socket wrench may be connected to a motor, which may be'suitably mounted within the housing 6, for imparting torque to the wrench. The collar I8 may be satisfactorily secured to the forward end of the housing Ii by the provision of cooperative male and female threads I9 and 2i), respectively, on the outer edge of the collar and inner face of the forward end of the housing. These members may also be keyed or otherwise locked, such as by set screw 2 I, against unscrewing which may occur by reason of the coaxial rotation of the wrench in operation.

A motor for rotatively driving the socket tool i5 without rotating the handle 5 or housing `6 may suitably comprise electrically or non-electrically operated means. A simple and inexpensive embodiment of such means comprises, as shown in the drawing, a ilat blade-like member 22, of spring steel characteristics, secured at one endto the base of the tool I5 and secured at its lower end against rotation about its axis in some suitable manner. Suitable means for securing the lower end of the spring non-rotative, about its axis, with respect to the housing 5 is shown in the drawing as comprising screws, or other suitable spring retainers 23 and extendingr through vertically disposed slots 25 and 2% in the walls of the housing 5 into iixation with the end of the spring 22 or a cross bar 2l iixed to the end of the spring.

By this arrangement, the spring 22 may be twisted by holding either the handle 5 or the tool I5 against axial rotation and rotating, or applying torque, to the other. rihe torque enerby thus applied may be stored, for later release, in the twisted flat spring by the provision of means for holding the wrench I5 against a-Xial rotation with respect to the housing t. Suitable means for the latter purpose may comprise cooperative interlocking members 28 and 29, of the character shown, on the contiguous, adjacent, or abutting surfaces of the wrench shoulder Il and collar I8. The interlocking members may be of the ratchet and pawl type, or of the dog character, for easy winding of the spring, but may be of any other type of detent, whose faces are similar, for holding the respective members against rotation in either direction whether the spring be wound for right or left torque energy. The interlocking members become intermittently unmeshed by the cam action of ratchet type of detent for the winding of the spring. Should the detents not be of the cam-face type, however, they may be unmeshed for winding by manually applying compressional force between the wrench and handle during the rotary winding of the-spring.

To insure a meshing of the interlocking detent means 23 and 2S, even though the hat spring 22 becomes shortened by a winding thereof, means may be provided for maintaining a predetermined compressional force upon the wrench shoulder I'l against the collar I3. Such means may suitably comprise, as shown, a coil spring 3S mounted under predetermined compression between tlie base of the driving spring 22 and a xed base. The iixed base may beV the end of the pole-like handle 5, or as shown, a cross bar 3i fixed to the walls of the housing 5. A vertically disposed guide or support 32, fixed to either the base of the spring 22 or the cross bar 3l and slidable through the other, may also be provided for maintaining the spring 3S in proper position. By this arrangement the upward force of the coil spring 35 upon the driving spring-22 holds the detent means 2,3 and 29 in interlocking or meshing relation and as the driving spring 22 is shortcned by a twisting winding thereof the base securing means 23 and 26 of spring 22 are forced upward by spring ll in the slots 25 and 25 so that the shortening of the spring 23 takes eifect only from the base end thereof.

The torque energy which may be applied to the spring 22 'and stored therein by the detents 28 and 29, may be released by an upward force upon the handle 5 anda counter or resisting force upon 'the tool I5, whereby coil spring 3i) is compressed sufficiently to free the interlocking relation of the detent means 28 and 2S. The compressional force required to release the stored torque energy should be relatively small to avoid the necessity of applying such force as will bend or unduly elevate a power line when the socket wrench is pushed upwardly over the eye or head of the line clamp.

To operate the device, as may be already understood from the description of the foregoing portions of the device, torque is applied to the driving spring 22 b y the simultaneous application of reverse torque to the handle and tool i5, or theA holding of one during the application of torque to the other. When a predetermined amount of torque has been applied to the spring 22, the compressional force upon the handle and wrench is eased up to allow coil spring 30 to force the detent means 28 and 29 into interlocking relation. The torque energy is thereby stored or retained in the spring 22 and the hot stick thus ready for use to tighten a screw, if lefthand torque was applied to the spring, or loosen a screw, if right-hand torque was applied. With the device thus wound, a lineman, who has ascended a power line pole to 'a height suflicient to reach the clamp of the power line with the hot stick, may release the stored torque energy and transmit it to a line clamp screw by placing the wrench over the head of the screw and applying a slight upward push on the handle 5.

In such operations, whether by conventional or prior lart devices or by the present device thus far specifically described, the torque force required to tighten a screw clamp upon a line or stirrup and particularly that required for the initial breaking loose of a corroded or rust-set screw is most generaly sufficient to kink or bend the line or stirrup wire to a destroying or damaging extent. The give of the line also offers little or insuicient resistance to the torque force required to be transmitted to the clamp screw. To avoid such effects and to provide suiiicient force to counteract the torque force required for a proper tightening of the screw or for unscrewing the same, I provide a fork or a pair of lnger like members 33 and 34 extending in fixed relation from the forward end of the housing 6 outwardly along opposite sides of the socket wrench. When these members are placed on opposite sides of the line, adjacent opposite sides of the screw clamp, la bearing may be brought against the wire in a direction opposite from that which may be applied by the torque force on the screw clamp.

The countertorque which opposes the torque exerted by the motor driver is applied, by my improvements, to the wire immediately adjacent either or both sides of the clamp to be loosened or tightened. Neither the line nor an auxiliary stirrup to which a clamp is, or is to be, secured will exert or have exerted upon it any force as a result of this operation except for that short span of the line which is limited to the small distance on either side of the clamp, between the center lines of the two projected metal ngers attached to the periphery of the fixed housing 6 of the hot stick. There results a condition in mechanics as if the wire on either side of the clamp were held rmly between the jaws of two vises and a wrench applied so as to exert a uniform and proper torque to tighten or loosen the screw of the clamp. In addition the center line of this torque is autom-atically maintained as coincident with thecenter line of the screw, thus making this operation most eiective, eliminating components which are not directly useful to the purpose desired to be accomplished.

One or both of the fork or ringer elements may be provided with an open eye or hook or such character as shown in Fig. la for use as a tool` for such purposes as lifting a clamp to or from positions on an overhead line, for engaging the eye of a clamp screw and initially starting it into the threads of the clamp or unscrewing a clamp screw after it has been loosened by the socket wrench, etc.

It will thus be understood that, inv the use of my` improved wrench, no torque need be manually transmitted through the hot stick by the lineman and that the amount of torque desired may be predetermined and obtained by a definite angle of turn of the spring motor driver, the length of which spring may be more or less determined by the number of revolutions desired to be exerted.

Having described my invention and specific embodiments having the characteristics thereof and by which it may be practiced, what I claim is:

1. In combination, a housing, a tool for engaging a member threaded or to be threaded into another, said tool being carried by said housing rotatable about its axis, means carried by said housing for alternately and indefinitely storing clockwise and counterclockwise torque energy in predetermined amounts, manually releasable means releasable at will for releasing energy stored in said energy storing means, means for transmitting energy released from said storing means to said tool, and means for causing said transmitted energy to impart a force tending to rotate said tool about its axis.

2. In combination, a support, a tool for engaging and turning a member threaded into a second member, said tool being carried by said qsupport in a manner whereby the tool may be rotated about its axis, means for indenitely storing energy for release at will, means for causing energy released from said storing means to impart a force tending to rotate said tool about its axis whereby a threaded member engaged by said tool may be turned, and means for imparting a counter rotational force to a second member into which the engaged member is threaded.

3. A device for coupling or uncoupling co-` operatively threaded members, said device comprising a pair of cooperatively mounted tools one of which is rotatable with respect to the other, means for storing energy comprising a fiat spring which may be twisted longitudinally, means for holding and releasing torque energy stored in said spring, means for causing energy released from said storing means to impart rotational force to one of said tools, and means for imparting` a counter rotational force to the other of said tools.

4. In combination, a housing, a tool carried rotatable about its axis by said housing, means carried by said housing for indeiinitely storing energy, means for releasing energy stored in said energy storing means at will and means for transmitting said released energy to said tool and causing it to impart a torque thereto about its axis. v

5. In combination, a tool for engaging a member to be rotated about its axis, means for indefinitely storing` a pre-determined amount of energy for release at will to actuate said tool, means for transmitting released energy to said tool and causing it to impart a torque thereto, and means for guiding said tool rotatable about its axis 6. In combination, a iiat spring element having one end thereof fixed against axial rotation, means for releasably holding the other end of said spring against axial rotation after torque by longitudinal twisting of the spring has been applied thereto, a tool for engaging work to be turned, and means for transmitting torque released from said spring to said tool and work which may be engaged thereby.

7. In combination, a fiat spring element having one endl thereof fixed against axial rotation, means for releasably holding the other end of said spring against axial rotation after torque by longitudinal twisting of the spring has been applied thereto, a tool for engagingY Work to be turned, means for transmitting torque released from said spring to said tool and any Work which may be engaged, by Said w01, and means whereby a force counter tothe torque of the tool may be imparted to Work associated with the Work which 5 may be engaged by the tool.

ALLISON R. WILLIAMS. 

